Jordanian Strikes Lay Bare Security Vacuum in Southern Syria

Jordan’s response to a deadly church attack at home has triggered a new confrontation with neighboring Syria.

On October 26, the Jordanian Air Force launched multiple strikes across southern Syria against what Amman described as terrorist groups linked to the October 23 attack on St. George’s Greek Orthodox Church in Karak, which killed nine people and wounded 34 others. Amman claimed that the operation was coordinated with Syrian authorities, an assertion Damascus swiftly denied.

Syria’s Health Ministry reported that the Jordanian strikes killed seven civilians — three children, a woman, and three men — in the southern governorate of Daraa. The Syrian Foreign Ministry condemned the operation as a violation of Syrian sovereignty. Jordanian officials, meanwhile, claimed preliminary assessments indicated that more than 20 Islamic State (ISIS) operatives had been killed and a large weapons depot destroyed.

Nearly two years after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, southern Syria remains vulnerable to jihadist activity. At the same time, Damascus has struggled to establish an effective security presence capable of preventing terrorist groups from resurging.

Terrorist Activity in Southern Syria Under Assad and After Him

Southern Syria has long served as a refuge for extremist organizations, particularly the ISIS, which maintained an underground presence in Daraa and the Druze-majority province of Suwayda. The fall of the Assad regime in 2024 did little to eliminate these networks.

A report by the UN Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team revealed that an ISIS-linked group had plotted to assassinate Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa in Daraa in 2025.

An August assessment by the same UN team found that ISIS operatives had infiltrated tribal formations and participated in armed confrontations in Daraa.

The report also warned of terrorist infiltration of the middle ranks of Syria’s security forces. Similarly, the EU Agency for Asylum found that although Daraa is nominally under Damascus’s control, several armed factions continued to operate semi-autonomously. A Jordanian official told the Al Arabiya media outlet that Amman had repeatedly raised concerns with Damascus about terrorist strongholds in southern Syria, expressing frustration with the continued presence of groups openly “recruiting extremists.”

Syria Offers Public Condemnation Alongside Cooperation

In response to the Jordanian airstrikes, Syrian authorities closed the Nasib border crossing, the country’s main commercial gateway to Jordan, suspending passenger and freight traffic in both directions. Local Syrian sources also described protests near the crossing, including alleged attacks on Jordanian vehicles, threats against truck drivers, and calls to prevent Jordanian vehicles from entering Syria. The crossing reopened a day later.

The Jordanian strikes also provoked public outrage and calls for a strong Syrian response. One Syrian parliamentarian demanded that Jordan issue an apology and compensate the families of those killed. Others called on Damascus to summon the Jordanian ambassador and refer the incident to the UN Security Council. But despite the public rhetoric, the Syrian government pursued diplomatic engagement with Amman and announced it would establish a joint security committee with Jordan to prevent further cross-border incidents.

Washington Must Lean on Vetted Syrian Personnel To Dismantle ISIS Networks in Southern Syria

The withdrawal of U.S. forces from Syria in April placed greater responsibility on Damascus to combat ISIS and prevent its resurgence. Washington can continue supporting counter-ISIS operations through the Pentagon’s Counter-ISIS Train and Equip Fund, for which the administration requested $130 million for Syria in fiscal year 2027. The budget request explicitly envisions continued assistance to vetted Syrian personnel, including former members of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Syrian Free Army (SFA), both longstanding U.S. counterterrorism partners, who have integrated into Damascus’s security apparatus.

Washington should prioritize assistance to vetted personnel from the SFA, which was incorporated into the Syrian Interior Ministry’s Badia Security Directorate in October 2025. Unlike newly established Syrian security units, the SFA has years of experience conducting counter-ISIS operations in southern Syria. Building on this existing partnership would allow Washington to strengthen Syria’s counterterrorism capabilities without relying on unvetted personnel in Syria’s security apparatus. 

 Ahmad Sharawi is a senior research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). For more analysis from Ahmad and FDD, please subscribe HERE. Follow FDD on X @FDD. Follow Ahmad on X @AhmadA_Sharawi. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.